Any true fan of my blog would know that I have already written about the chapter titled, "On the Rainy River," back in early March of this year. During that time, our class had read the chapter on its own without any other context and had to do a rhetorical analysis on it. Little did I know then, I would go on to begin reading the book that the passage originated from, finding a new and clearer understanding of its content. Now, I can see that "On the Rainy River," as well as the entire story, is filled with characters facing the choice of courage or cowardice.
One of the best examples of the dilemma of courage v. cowardice is Tim O'Brien's own experiences in the chapter, "On the Rainy River." In this chapter, O'Brien receives a letter drafting him into the Vietnam war, to which he decides he has to either join the war he doesn't support or flee to Canada. This very could have been a relatively easy decision to make--just play eeny, meeny, miny moe and be done with it--but the towering feelings of bravery, shame, and the fear of embarrassment held O'Brien from deciding for several harsh days. One of the reasons this situation was even more difficult to make for O'Brien is because of how easily courage and shame could be interchanged in this scenario. On one hand, fleeing from your country, friends, and family to avoid fighting is an act of cowardice, yet giving up everything so you can stay true to your beliefs can be seen as an act of bravery. On the other hand, defying your own beliefs in favor of others can be seen as either cowardice or bravery as well. In other words, O'Brien couldn't find a solution that could please everyone; he was stuck in a mental war without a winner or a loser. Due to not wanting to be seen as a wuss by his country and community, O'Brien drove himself to the border of Minnesota and Canada and tore himself up mentally in order to make his decision. In the end, O'Brien didn't feel any better about his choice, saying, "I was a coward. I went to the war."
Another character who let the fear of embarrassment control his actions was Curt Lemon in the chapter, "The Dentist." After appearing visibly nervous before a dentist's visit, Curt told the other soldiers, "he'd had a couple of bad experiences with dentists," back in high school. Lemon, trying to impress the other soldiers, attempted to go into the office only to faint and end up avoiding the checkup. This was viewed as obvious cowardice by the other soldiers who had not had the same experiences as Lemon and therefore didn't understand his fear of dentists. However, the story does not end there. After temporarily becoming a depressed bum due to the shame he had felt, Lemon had decided to fake a toothache in order to redeem himself by going in for a checkup. Lemon would go on to feel significantly better after having a tooth unnecessarily removed, further showing how much he cared about how the other soldiers viewed him.
My third and final example is from Dave Jenson in the chapter, "Enemies." After getting into a "vicious" fistfight with Lee Strunk over a missing jackknife, Jenson decided to use his size to overpower Strunk and severely break his nose. Their decisions to fight and Jenson's decision to size-up Strunk shows that Jenson was looking for validation from the other soldiers. O'Brien said through his narration that the fight was, "about something stupid," yet Jenson felt the need to prove his masculinity to the other guys and injured his own teammate because of it. After the fight, Jenson would quickly become paranoid from the idea that Strunk would try and exact revenge on him. This led to Jenson using a pistol to bash his own nose until it broke in order to strike even with Strunk. Jenson may have temporarily proved his masculinity and strength, but lost its meaning after he let his fear get to him.
The relationship between courage and cowardice is extremely complex and have a profound impact on the characters in this story and in real life. These two factors are responsible for many of the actions the soldiers made during and before the war. Some of the smartest and dumbest decisions made by these soldiers were driven by these two factors. They made O'Brien betray his own morals, Curt Lemon get a tooth unnecessarily pulled out, and drive Dave Jenson into breaking the nose of a fellow soldier as well as himself. To most of these soldiers, their dignity is one of the only things they have left to lose and it makes proving their masculinity dominate their decisions. Courage and cowardice are both polar opposites, yet they apply to the same scenarios and can be interchanged based on perception and opinion. In other words, they are separate but together.
"I would blow up a thousand puppies before I let one man die." - Anthony Politi 11/27/18
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